Can-opener.



Patented- Oct. 22, |90I. S. A. JOHNSON. 1

CAN OPENERl Appucation med may 1', 1901.)

(No Mndel.)

llllllll lltll JWM! Tm: noims PETERS om PHoYo-Lluov. wAsmnGroN. n cA Wl TNE SSE S UNrrnn STATES SAMUEL A. JOHNSON, OF WI'NONA, MINNESOTA.

CAN-OPENER.

SPECIFECATIN forming part of Letters Patent No. 684,825, dated October 22, 1901.

Application tiled May 1, 1901. Serial No. 58,304. (No model) To a/ZZ whom, t may concern: y

Be it known thatl, SAMUEL A. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at \/Vinona, in the county of Winona land State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to devices for opening cans or other sealed metallic receptacles, and has for its object to provide a device of this character that can be manufactured cheap enough to permit the packer to place one on each can of goods.

A further object is to provide an efficient can-opener of a suitable size and conformation to be securely packed with a can in such a manner as' to offer no obstacle in handling or shipping.

A further object is to provide an opener adapted to be packed with a can, which is constructed to open any Variety of can Without any previous preparation of the can.

My invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in Vthe claim.

Referring to the drawings, in which like figures of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several Views, Figure l represents a perspective View of my opener held between the foreinger and thumb of the operator ready for use. Fig. 2 shows the opener in position on a can for packing. Fig. 3 shows a modification. Fig. 4 shows the said modiiication packed in a can which is provided with an eXtra top or cover. Fig. 5 shows my cutter with a turned-over fulcrum end.

In the drawings the number l represents the main 'portion or shank of my opener,which consists of a straight bar or strip of metal having one end curved to form a inger-hold and a can-opener formed on its opposite end. The cutter is formed by a depending arm 2, adjacent the forward end of the said strip l, and a forwardly and upwardly inclined cutter 3, integral therewith and projecting beyond the end 4 of the shank for the purpose of permitting the point of the cutter to be inserted in a can. Thecutterarm 3 isv suitably beveled to form a cutting edge and is inclined upwardly toward the fulcrum 4 for the pur- Y pose ot' securing a better hold on the material to be cut.l The rear end of the shank portion l is bent laterally first to one side and then back, thus forming approximately a semicircle or finger-hold 5, with its end 6, extending slightly beyond the shank l, of a suitable size to receive the forefinger of the operator. 'A further object of thisrcurved portion 5 is to assist in retaining the 'opener in its place when packed on the can, in which position the shank portion lies flat on the t'op of the can, with the curved finger-hold projecting over and embracing the usual raisedrim 7 of the can 8, thus preventing the opener from moving endwise, while a strip ot' paper is pasted over the opener resting on the can.

In the modification shown iu Figs. 3 and 4 the end of the rshank l instead of being curved laterally is curved in the form of a circle l0 in the same plane as the shank portion and of a diameter sufficient to enable theiinger of the operator to be inserted therein. The cutter is thus made iiat throughout its length, which is for' the purpose of enabling it to be packed in cans which are provided with a separate or extra cover, such as paint-cans, as shown in Fig. 4, or it can be laid flat on the top of ordinary cans and a strip of paper pasted over it to retain it in position.

It will be readily seen that as the device is stamped or cut from a single piece of metalv and that as it is small and simplein construction it can be very cheaply manufactured, as scrap metal can be utilized for the purpose.

In operation the device is irst removed from the can. The point of the cutteris then inserted in the can by means of pressure of the thumb or otherwise exerted upon the end 6. The curved portion or linger-hold is then grasped by the fingers ot the operator and the upper end depressed until the shank is substantially parallel with `the top of the can, when the cutter-blade is pushed into the can as far as possible. The upper end is then raised, and the cutter using the projecting end of the shank as a fulcrum will sever the top for a distance nearly equal to the length IOO of the ci1Lter-blade, when the handle is again depressed and raised and the operation continued unLil the can is opened.

In order to form an increased*bearing-surface for the fulerum, I have shown in Fig. 5 the extension or fulcrum 4C as elongated and bent back upon itgself in the form of a loop 9.

IVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

A can-opener consisting of a flat metallic strip having a straight-edged upwardly-inclined cutter-blade depending from and adjacent to one end thereof and projecting beyond said end, the said end being an extended porbion of the strip bent back upon itself, and an approximately semieircular f|nger-hold formed on the other end of the said strip with the end thereof fiat; and carried slightly beyond the line of the said strip, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

SAMUEL A. JOHNSON. Vitnesses:

GEORGE T. SIMPSON, CLARA SCHLossTEIN'. 

